Ah, back in the day….Now when someone opens a conversation or begins a blog with these words, the chances are they’re a bit long in the tooth. So let me open by writing. Back in the day when I was working we used to have these motivational meetings that were designed to help us all be of one mind, you know a team thing. To help you understand this team thing I will share this with you. There were five kids a dog and a parakeet and mom and dad. My dad was career military, Air Force. There is a lot of team work that goes into being a military family. My mother’s take on team work was simple. When we gathered at the table to eat, we ate what was in the can, no substitutions. We were a team at least at the table. Now about that work thing and the meeting I have always remembered.
Authority, Accountability and Responsibility three words that I supposed were important to us as individuals and as a team. Here are the secular definitions for each.

Authority
: the power to give orders or make decisions: the power or right to direct or control someone or something
: the confident quality of someone who knows a lot about something or who is respected or obeyed by other people
: a quality that makes something seem true or real

Accountability
: the quality or state of being accountable; especially : an obligation or willingness to accept responsibility or to account for one’s actions

Responsibility
the state of being the person who caused something to happen
: a duty or task that you are required or expected to do
: something that you should do because it is morally right, legally required, etc.

I have always remembered these words because of what the instructor told us about them. Authority is given or granted, Accountability is imposed and Responsibility is inherent and must be accepted by each individual.

Now comes the fun part.
The title of this blog is “From the Pew, A Layman’s View of The Gospel.” The nice thing about sitting in the pew is you can say most anything, good or bad and other than those close by, no one hears you. You can always say “gee I wish they would…” and not do a thing, because every church has a bunch of “they” that will do it. Using the NRSV, Bible Gateway counted 133 times that Authority could be found in the bible, Accountability 5 times and Responsibility 9 times all in the OT. Take the time to look them up, you may find more in other translations. It is amazing to read the Christian perspective as written in the Gospel. Take the time to look. I may have miss-counted. I will be waiting here in the pew for you.